South Korea dismisses offer by North Korea to resume nuclear disarmament talks

South Korea on Monday brushed off an apparent offer by North Korea to resume nuclear disarmament talks, and chided Pyongyang for a recent personal attack on its president Park Geun-Hye.

"Actions are more important than words," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Seok said of the offer contained in a letter delivered Friday by an envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Chinese state media said the letter cited the North's willingness to resume stalled six-party talks on denuclearisation involving China, the two Koreas, the United States, Russia and Japan.

The reported message was greeted with scepticism in South Korea, where observers saw it as an effort to appease Beijing, rather than a genuine signal of intent.

North Korea has repeatedly declared that its programme to develop a viable nuclear deterrent is not open to negotiation.